Hunt and Prey
Kelsey’s Burden Series: Book Eight
Crime Drama Series
KAYLIE HUNTER
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, businesses, incidents, etc., are the imagination of the author, and any resemblance to actual persons or otherwise is coincidental.
Copyright 2021 by Kaylie Hunter
All rights reserved.
Cover design by ebooklaunch.com
BOOKS BY KAYLIE
Kelsey’s Burden Series
Layered Lies
Past Haunts
Friends and Foes
Blood and Tears
Love and Rage
Day and Night
Hearts and Aces
Hunt and Prey
Heroes and Hellfire
Standalone Novels
Slightly Off-Balance
Diamond’s Edge
For an up-to-date book list, visit BooksByKaylie.com
Dedication
Happy 70th birthday, Mom!
Covid prevented me from throwing you a big surprise party, but at least I get
to embarrass you here. Thank you for being my constant rock.
You mean the world to me.
Love and kisses from your favorite child.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter One
KELSEY
Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
The neck cramp I’d earned from staring through the scope for two hours with my head tilted wasn’t half as miserable as the runny nose due to the rotting, soggy leaves piled beneath me. Cold, wet, and in desperate need of a tissue, I held my position and listened to Grady’s familiar call, a squirrel’s clucking, which alerted me that Team Alpha was getting closer.
Based on the fog-horn blasts that signaled when contestants were eliminated, Team Alpha was down to three players. Team Kelsey also had three players left.
At the start of the contest, we’d sent Trigger and Tech, guns blazing and thrashing loudly, into the woods ahead of us to take out as many rivals as they could while the rest of us advanced without concern of making noise. I knew we weren’t as stealthy as the other team, so a solid strategy was our only chance to win. Somehow Tech and Trigger eliminated one of our rivals in the process, which was an unexpected bonus.
A half an hour later, the fog horn had sounded for Katie and Bridget who’d been our second line of offense. Both women were top-notch shooters and had eliminated three Alphas. And now here we were, even-Steven, with each team having three contestants still in the game.
I flinched as the silent woods erupted with the sound of gunfire. The shots came from the far left, where Jackson had set up a nest for himself. After he fired off three rounds, I heard both Grady and Donovan curse. Two more rounds were fired near Jackson’s location.
“Damn it,” Jackson yelled, followed by the rustling of leaves and branches. “How the hell did you sneak past me?”
Bones’ deep chuckle sounded nearby. “I’m part Indian. It’s in my blood.”
Jackson muffled a few choice curses under his breath. “At least I got Donovan and Grady first.”
“Like I need them.” I could imagine him shrugging his indifference. “Kelsey’s no threat in this setting.”
“You always underestimate her,” Jackson said before stomping loudly between the trees to catch up with Grady and Donovan.
Grady had the ability to sense when someone was watching him so I was careful not to watch them leave. Unfortunately, I was now facing in the opposite direction of where my target was. Bones being behind our line wasn’t good. The woods had already lost their leaves and any movement would be easy to spot. Not to mention heard.
His statement that the woods were more his element than mine, while arrogant, was nonetheless true. He could win in a sneak attack against me all day long. My only hope of winning rested on the mere few seconds when the fog horn blasts went off, which would allow me to roll over and not be heard.
I rested my paintball rifle on the ground as silently as possible. Under the netting, I edged my right hand to my hip to grip my pistol. I waited as I listened to the noises behind me. Only a barely audible snap of a small twig alerted me that Bones was moving north, deeper into the woods.
As the fog horn sounded, I rolled to the right, sat up, and sighted my target. My movements caused Bones to turn, gun in hand. We both fired.
The paintball hit me square in the chest at the same time I heard Bones yell, “Motherfucker.”
I laid myself back in the leaves, both groaning and laughing. I used my left hand to rub my bruised breast plate, not caring that I was smearing the neon green paint in the process.
Bones walked over and looked down at me. “Where the hell did you get camo netting?”
I laughed as I reached my green-coated hand out for him to pull me up. “Our girly pink t-shirts with glitter lettering are reversible. It’s all camo and netting on this side. Itchy as hell, though.”
“Bridget and Katie’s idea?”
“Of course.” I rotated my head in circles, trying to loosen the kinks in my neck. “How do you guys stay still for so long? It was unbearable.”
“You get used to it.” Bones gently shoved me toward the houses. “Donovan’s going to be pissed when he sees us walk out together. At least we ended in a tie.” He looked over his shoulder at me. “Team Alpha was three points ahead after the obstacle course this morning. We officially win the tournament.”
I
